A NIGHT out with friends ended in tragedy when a “beautiful” and “popular” 21-year-old woman was killed by a car on her way home.

Hayley Moffitt, of Drake Close, Finchampstead, was walking home at around 1am last Friday after spending an evening at the Big Apple bowling complex in Wokingham.

The accident happened in Finchampstead Road near the entrance to the former Woodcray Manor golf course, after she was in collision with a Volkswagen Polo driven by an 18-year-old man from Wokingham.

At the time of going to press, police were still investigating the circumstances of the accident, and were appealing for information or any witnesses.

Miss Moffitt, who was due to start a college course in the Autumn, suffered serious head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver escaped unhurt.

Police cordoned off the area and closed the road for three-and-a-half hours while accident investigators examined the scene. An inquest into her death was expected to be opened and adjourned this week.

Family and friends gathered at the scene of the accident last Friday morning to pay their respects.

They said her death had left a void which could never be filled.

Hayley’s aunt Angela Grover, who lives in Bracknell, said she received a phone call from a distraught Mrs Moffitt, Hayley’s mother, just before 3am.

She said: “I am still in total shock and can’t stop crying. I still think Hayley is going to walk up to me in a minute and say hello.

“Judy was sobbing and inconsolable when she called me, I could not get over to her house quickly enough.

“Hayley was such a happy-go-lucky girl, so popular, so beautiful, and knew everyone in the village.

“She had just been out with her mates to the bowling complex, but I can’t think why she was walking home.

“When she goes out she normally gets her mum or dad to pick her up.

“I saw her only yesterday — she was in Wokingham buying some trainers with her boyfriend Stephen, and came up to me to see how I was, and we had a bit of a chat.

“I just can’t take it in that a day later she is not here. She was so good with children and everyone loved her.

“This is absolutely unbearable for her parents as they are in one hell of a state, as are the rest of us. We are a really close family and I don’t know how we will get through this.”

Mourners, who went to lay flowers at the scene of the accident throughout the day said Miss Moffitt had so much to live for, and had been due to become a godmother to her close friend Molly Smith’s 16-week old baby Billy in a few weeks time.

Last Thursday she had spent the day helping her granddad, 75-year-old Tony Grover, decorate her brother Dean’s flat in Finchampstead Road.

Mr Grover, whose wife passed away last year, was very close to his grand-daughter, and was said to be “inconsolable”.

Miss Moffitt was a former pupil at The Emmbrook and St Crispin’s schools.

Although unemployed, she was looking forward to starting a course in Criminology at Bracknell & Wokingham College this September. She also had aspirations to be a model.

She had previously worked as a paint sprayer at Inchcape Ford in Finchampstead Road.

Her hobbies included researching information on crimes and criminal activity to help with her impending studies.

She had been a keen ballerina as a child, and was an avid fan of Liverpool FC.

Miss Moffitt’s cousin, 25-year-old Kerry Player, said the last time she saw her was when she popped round to her home for a chat last Thursday afternoon.

She said: “When I got the phone call about Hayley I couldn’t believe it — I am in total shock.

“Hayley always enjoyed going out with her mates and we were very close.

“We grew up together and have done a lot together. She was one of the nicest girls you could ever meet.”

Her funeral is taking place at Easthampstead Park Crematorium on Friday, July 30, at 3.30pm.

l If you were in Finchampstead Road at around 1am last Friday morning and have any information which may help police with their investigation, call PC Martin York at Three Mile Cross Roads Policing on (08458) 505 505. Alternatively, if you want to give information anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.